Writers Bloc and Study Sessions

Long time Beverly Hills resident Andrea Grossman has made and continues to make substantial contributions to the cultural life of our region.

Twenty-nine years ago, Ms. Grossman formed a wonderful non-profit, Writers Bloc. Simply described, Writers Bloc is a literary series where authors of all stripes appear in front of a live audience and are generally interviewed by journalists or others knowledgeable about the featured subject matter.

Previously, Ms. Grossman had been involved with selecting authors for a UCLA program “Friends of English” and it occurred to her that she could do her own programming untethered from a committee. (I support that principle in almost every other context.)

As a result of her very first program featuring Joan Didion, which drew 500 people, Ms. Grossman was on her way. There is some good-natured family debate between Andrea and her husband Rick, a lawyer, as to who came up with the name, “Writers Bloc.” She explains:

“Rick and I have two very different memories of coming up with the name. He claims he thought of it, and I am certain that I thought of it. But when I said it out loud, I loved it. It’s meant to evoke a bloc of people who have different interests, different strengths, but are there for the same purpose. It’s always maddening when authors say during an event, “there’s no such thing as writers block.” I have been known to stand up and shout, ‘YES THERE IS!’”

The programs are generally held in nearby venues such as the Writers Guild Theatre, the Music Hall Theatre, the Wilshire-Ebell Theatre and the Skirball Cultural Center. Ms. Grossman’s standard for selecting a featured author (or, in some instances, political figures) is a simple one:

“Is this a person for whom I will get in my car and deal with Los Angeles traffic to see?”

This standard has served remarkably well. It is upheld by what Ms. Grossman calls the “Sesame Street approach” of ensuring that each program is excellent.

Part of the Mission Statement of Writers Bloc Presents, a non-profit, is to:

“Create and foster opportunities for dialogue and interaction between the general public and writers, thinkers, public figures or others about reading, writing, literature, the literary process, the role and relationship of literature to music, film and other media, and the relevance and impact of literature on modern society.”

The featured authors are a virtual Hall of Fame. In addition to Joan Didion, early guests included Philip Roth, Elmore Leonard, and John Le Carre. More recently, they have included Stacey Abrams, Joan Baez, Tom Hanks, Maggie Haberman, Steve Lopez, and Sandra Tsing-Loh. Political figures are also often featured including Senator Adam Schiff, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonya Sotomayor. Presidential candidates VP Kamala Harris, and Senators Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren have appeared. A recent highlight was an interview of Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Upcoming events include Maureen Dowd, Ezra Klein, and Lawrence Wright.

The events are very reasonably priced, generally around $25. Andrea Grossman is justifiably proud of what she has accomplished. Writers Bloc is a wonderful contribution to our cultural life.

This Sunday at 4:00 p.m., Writers Bloc will present Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, moderated by Monica Lewinsky, at the Writers Guild Theater.

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Study Sessions

The Beverly Hills City Council is considering an adjustment to its procedures relating to what action can be appropriately taken by the Council in its afternoon “Study Sessions.” The alternatives include:

1. providing that anything that could be done at a regular meeting can be done at a study session;

2. providing that no action whatsoever can be taken at a study session; or

3. something in between such as allowing only very minor matters to be acted on.

The debate has, to some degree, been hijacked by distracting arguments about what may have been done fifteen years ago or whether the Council secretly has an irresponsible pro-growth agenda that is somehow fostered by study sessions. These arguments are irrelevant and baseless.

The only legitimate issue is: what is good policy?

My conclusion is that, while ordinarily action should only be taken at formal City Council meetings, the Council should have the flexibility to take action during Study Sessions. Far too often I find that our bureaucracy stands in the way or at least delays taking appropriate action and I see no virtue in unduly tying the hands of our elected Council.

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One More Note

I hear that the Board of Education has decided to forego a search for the best possible candidate for Superintendent and has selected a former BHUSD principal and Assistant Superintendent. My guess is that the Board has been so overwhelmed with distracting issues, mostly self-inflicted, that it doesn’t have the bandwidth to handle a time-consuming search and selection process. So, for better or worse, it is going with the devil it knows.

We expect and should demand better. I am not being critical of the person who I believe has been selected. Rather, I advocate that, before making a final decision, the Board engage in a comprehensive unhurried process that will enhance the prospect that the person selected is the right person, all things considered.